Roadside control device for a toll apparatus installed in a motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

A roadside control device for checking the correct operation of a toll apparatus which is installed in a motor vehicle passing the control device and exhibiting an identifying license plate. The toll apparatus performs a satellite-supported electronic toll deduction and being equipped with the following facilities:
         a) a communication device,   b) a classification device,   c) a trigger device,   d) an evaluating device, and   e) a recording device.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This is a U.S. national stage of application No. PCT/DE99/01586, filedon May 26, 1999. Priority is claimed on that application and on thefollowing application Country: Germany, Application No.: 198 28 913.8,Filed: Jun. 18, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a roadside control device for checking thecorrect operation of a toll apparatus which is installed in a motorvehicle passing the control device and exhibiting an identifying licenseplate, the toll apparatus performing a satellite-supported electronictoll deduction.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

From EP 0 691 013 B1, the content of disclosure of which is included inthe present application by reference, an electronic deduction system isknown by means of which utilization charges can be collected fromvehicles which move through a predetermined geographic zone or achargeable road distance (utilization charges=toll). The known systemprovides that in each motor vehicle, a toll apparatus is installed whichhas a receiver for the signals of a navigation satellite system such as,e.g., GPS (Global Positioning System) or Glosnar and is provided with anelectronic memory in which the chargeable road distances and thegeographic zones (in the text which follows, only chargeable roads orroad distances are mentioned, to simplify matters) and the respectivelyassociated utilization tariffs are listed. Using the signals of thenavigation satellite system, the toll apparatus has access to thecurrent geographic position of the vehicle at any time and recognizesfrom the stored data concerning the chargeable road distances whetherthe motor vehicle is on a chargeable road distance or not and canautomatically determine the toll amounts which may be due in thismanner. To ensure completely anonymous deduction of the toll amounts,the known system provides for the use of debit cards (e.g. chip card) onwhich the respectively due toll amounts are deducted by the tollapparatus.

However, this method of collecting the toll amounts, which can becarried out with comparatively little expenditure, in principle opens upa number of possibilities for deception by the operator of therespective vehicle. Suitable precautions for detecting correspondingactions of misuse are therefore mandatory.

From EP 0 701 722 B1, a toll apparatus is known which exhibits for thispurpose a device for self monitoring for unauthorized manipulations atthe individual components of the toll apparatus and an error memory forrecording diagnostic data in the case of an unauthorized manipulation.If an unauthorized manipulation occurs, the toll apparatus can send outa signal indicating the improper operation of the apparatus via acorresponding signal device.

Naturally, this presupposes that the apparatus itself is switched on andthat the signal device has not been switched off or otherwisemanipulated.

Furthermore, from EP 0 700 561, a toll apparatus is known which has asignal device via which diagnostic data which provide information on theoperability of the toll apparatus or of its individual components,respectively, can be interrogated wirelessly from the outside. Using thetransmitted diagnostic data, it should be possible to determine bothnon-payers and wrong payers who pay for their road utilization in awrong class of charges. This document does not provide more detailedinformation on the external monitoring devices which are intended todetermine and trace the road misuse.

From GB 2 295 476 A, a roadside control device for checking the correctoperation of a toll apparatus which is installed in a motor vehiclepassing the control device and exhibiting an identifying license plateis known, wherein the toll apparatus performs a satellite-supportedelectronic toll deduction. For this purpose, the control device exhibitsa communication device for the wireless exchange of information betweenthe control device and the toll apparatus in the passing vehicle. Thetoll apparatus is capable of determining toll amounts by means oftime-dependent utilization tariffs and of deducting these amountselectronically from a credit value stored in an accompanying creditcard. When a motor vehicle passes the control device, the facilities ofthe control device are activated by the triggering of a correspondingsignal of an optical sensor. The communication device of the controldevice transmits to the vehicle which is just passing a data inquirywhich must be answered within a predetermined time. The response of thevehicle is then checked by the control device for the presence of anerror code. An error code is stored by the toll apparatus if theenforcement light visible to the outside is damaged, if the credit valuein the storage card becomes negative and if the antenna of thecommunication device has been shielded over a certain period of time andthus was not ready to receive. If no error code is detected, the controldevice assumes that the toll apparatus is working correctly. If, on theother hand, an error code is detected or no dialog can be establishedbetween the passing vehicle and the control device, a camera isactivated which takes a photograph of the vehicle.

Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,505 also discloses a roadside controldevice for operating a toll apparatus in motor vehicles which pass thecontrol device. The toll apparatus performs a satellite-supportedelectronic toll deduction. In this process, single amounts are deductedwhenever the vehicle has passed a virtual toll station, the positiondata of which are stored in the toll apparatus. In addition, the tollapparatus also has the position data of control stations and when theseare being passed, it automatically transmits certain control data to acentral station by means of digital mobile radio. Cameras installed atthe control station record all passing vehicles and their license platesand forward this information to the central station. At this station,the images are evaluated and compared with the control data in each casetransmitted by the vehicle, the content of which data is not explainedin greater detail. If there is no correlation between the data compared,then a report is generated in the central station in order to pursue thematter further manually. If there is correlation, then the datatransmitted to the central station are deleted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide aroadside control device for checking the correct operation of a tollapparatus for satellite-supported electronic toll deduction which, onthe one hand, ensures a high success rate during the checks to beperformed but, on the other hand, requires the least possibleexpenditure for the apparatus technology and the operation of thecontrol device.

According to the invention, the control device has at least thefollowing facilities:

-   -   a) a communication device for the wireless exchange of        information between the control device and the toll apparatus in        the passing vehicle,    -   b) a classification device for allocating the passing vehicle to        a predetermined vehicle class,    -   c) a trigger device for the accurately timed activation of the        devices of the control device,    -   d) an evaluating device for a plausibility check of the data        supplied by the communication device and the classification        device from the and on passing vehicle (or its toll apparatus,        respectively), and    -   e) a recording device for recording the license plate of the        passing vehicle in the case of an unsuccessful exchange of        information of the communication device with the toll device of        the passing vehicle or in the case of a negative result of the        plausibility check of the evaluating device.

The invention thus provides a control device which can handle therequired roadside surveillance of the passing vehicle virtuallyautomatically. Via the communication device, the control device canwirelessly request the toll apparatus of the vehicle passing in eachcase to transmit information on the current operating state of the tollapparatus.

In particular, such information contains details on the vehicle classused as a basis for the charge deduction and on the proper booking ofthe toll amounts, for instance on a debit card or alternatively via thecorrect transmission of the toll amounts to a charge deduction center.The communication device is preferably constructed as a dedicatedshort-range communication (DSRC) device for the frequency range from 2.4to 5.8 GHz. It can also be appropriate to use a terminal for a cellularnetwork (CN) or a data radio network as the communication device. Such aterminal is of advantage especially if it is suitable for digital mobileradio and corresponds, e.g., to the GSM standard. A terminal for theMobitex system can also be advantageously used. In principle, it is alsopossible to use a communication device in which the information istransmitted via infrared or ultrasonic signals. However, opticaltransmission methods are less preferred due to their sensitivity tophysical obstructions on the transmission path. It is also recommendedto conduct the dialog between the control device and the toll apparatusof the respective motor vehicle in encrypted form. For this purpose,corresponding encryption and decryption components must be provided inthe control device and in the motor vehicle or, respectively, the tollapparatus of the motor vehicle. This distinctly increases the securityagainst manipulation. In the vehicle, the keys necessary for encryptioncan be stored, for example, in a chip card or a fixed memory of the tollapparatus or of the communication device used in the motor vehicle. Aparticularly effective protection against manipulation can also beguaranteed if, apart from the current charge and chip card information,satellite, position and/or other apparatus information is interrogatedand transmitted to the control device. If the roadside control device isequipped with a receiver for the signals of the navigation satellitesystem used, in a corresponding manner to the vehicle-mounted tollapparatus, the satellite signals currently received at the vehicle canbe compared, for example, with the satellite signals currently receivedby the roadside control device. In this manner, confusions with othervehicles which are passing the roadside control device at the same timeor very closely in time, and data manipulation can be virtuallyeliminated. This correspondingly also applies if the passing vehicleprovides direct information on its current position at the time of thedialog.

If necessary, information for police purposes which goes beyond the puremonthly deduction can also be transmitted from the vehicle (e.g. drivingtimes of a lorry driver or vehicle data which could be read out via aCAN bus).

A particularly significant part of the roadside control device is theclassification device which suitably also operates in accordance with anacoustic or optical measuring principle. It has the task of recognizingthe respective type of the passing vehicle by means of characteristicsignals, with such an accuracy that it can be unambiguously allocated toa certain class of charges with the greatest reliability. With respectto acoustic measuring principles, the noises emitted by a motor vehiclecan be analyzed, for example. Thus, a goods vehicle (truck or bus) has adistinctly different frequency spectrum from a passenger car or amotorcycle. From ultrasonic signals, for example, information can bederived which can be used for determining the size of a vehicle in orderto be able to perform a class allocation in this manner. In general, anumber of different measuring methods can also be combined with oneanother in order to increase the reliability of the allocation. In thecontext of the present invention, optical measuring methods areparticularly preferred. In a preferred embodiment, the classificationdevice therefore has a sensor arrangement which exhibits an electronicimage sensor. This image sensor provides for the electronic recording ofimages of the respective vehicle which can then be compared with storedimages from a vehicle class database. The allocation to a vehicle classis in each case performed in accordance with the greatest match in theimage features. To reduce the computing effort for such a comparisonmethod and to shorten the time required, it is particularly appropriateif the classification device operates in accordance with the principleof optical correlation. In this case, it is not the image informationbut the spatial frequencies of the images which are opticallysuperimposed and through which a light source is vertically shone. Theintensity of the transmitter to light is a direct measure of thecorrelation of the images and thus of the class of vehicle. The vehicleclass could also be determined by means of the heat distribution overthe length of the vehicle, for example, with the aid of an infraredimage sensor, e.g. by means of a microbolometer array. Anotheralternative can be seen in the allocation of the vehicles passing thecontrol device by means of a geometric vehicle surveillance by means ofinfra-red detectors. However, this type of vehicle classification iscomparatively very complex and, as a rule, requires the installation ofthe control device on a bridge above the roadway to be observed.

The central component of the control device according to the inventionis a trigger device which appropriately activates the various devicesand components of the control device and also determines the timesequence of the vehicle classification. The trigger device detects thetime at which a motor vehicle has reached a defined position on theroadway or a defined distance from the control device and, if necessary,also provides, e.g., additional information on the respective vehiclespeed. The trigger device suitably has an electronic image sensorfollowed by image processing. As an alternative, a radar sensor or alaser sensor can also be provided. Naturally, it is also possible tocombine a number of different sensors.

The evaluating device has the task of determining whether the vehiclechecked is legally driving on the road or not, i.e. whether the due roadusage charges are correctly determined and deducted in accordance withthe relevant tariff in each case by the toll apparatus in the vehicle.For this purpose, the information which is supplied, on the one hand,via the dialog with the toll apparatus and, on the other hand, by theclassification device is compared and checked for plausibility. If thevehicle class interrogated from the toll apparatus of the motor vehicle,for example by radio via the communication device, deviates from thevehicle class determined by the classification device, the evaluatingdevice supplies a signal which initiates further measures in order topursue the probable violation of the law. Instead of a deceptivemanipulation, a technical fault may also be present. The most importantmeasure consists in securing evidence which provides for a reliableproof that the vehicle observed in each case has indisputably notperformed a correct calculation and further debiting of the road usagecharge due in each case.

For this purpose, a recording device is provided which produces, in theevent of a negative result of the plausibility check or in the eventthat no dialog with the vehicle or, respectively, the toll apparatus ofthe vehicle has been set up at all, a recording of the vehicle by meansof which this vehicle can be unambiguously identified. Naturally, therecording of the license plate of the vehicle is primarily suitable forthis purpose. Such a recording device can comprise, for example, anelectronic camera. In this arrangement, it is also possible for theelectronic camera of the recording device to be physically identicalwith an electronic camera which forms the sensor system of theclassification device so that the expenditure for this component can besaved. The time at which the recording of the license plate is taken ispredetermined by a corresponding signal by the trigger device.

It is particularly advantageous if the control device comprises a radiodevice, especially a data radio device, via which, in the case of animproper operation of the toll apparatus in the vehicle which has beendetected by the evaluating device, the recording of the license plate ofthe vehicle affected and, as far as necessary, further data of therespective checking process can be transmitted to a control center. Inthis connection, it is also appropriate if the control device has a datacompression device so that the data can be transmitted to the controlcenter in compressed form. This makes it possible to distinctly reducethe capacity requirements for the transmission channels, and thus thecosts of the data transmission.

The control device according to the invention essentially consists ofelectronic components which require little constructional volume andhave low energy consumption. This control device can, therefore, beproduced as a compact equipment unit. It can be installed at fixedlocations. e.g. on a mast used as equipment support, or on a bridgeleading over the respective road. However, the installation in a vehicleis particularly advantageous with respect to the effectiveness ofcontrol processes which are carried out as spot checks, so that thecontrol device can be used as a mobile device at any locations. This hasthe advantage, on the one hand, that a single apparatus can be used forserving a multiplicity of control points and that, on the other hand,the users of the chargeable road distances cannot adjust to controlpoints known in advance in order to remain undetected as “fare dodgers”,for example, by always performing a correct operation of the tollapparatus in time before reaching such control points while the tollapparatus is, for example, simply switched off otherwise. A particularlyhigh level of flexibility in use and control effectiveness can beachieved if the control device is constructed in such a compact mannerthat it can be used as a hand apparatus (similar to a “radar gun” usedfor speed checking).

The present invention makes it possible to perform a check of thecorrect operation of satellite-supported toll apparatuses in spot-checkor also continuous form with comparatively low expenditure for theconstruction and operation of a roadside control device, in whicharrangement a very high reliability with respect to the factualcorrectness of the control processes performed can be achieved. Theessential factor is that the personnel expenditure necessary for this isextremely low since the control cycles occur virtually in fullyautomated form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the text which follows, the present invention will be explained ingreater detail by way of an example with reference to the diagrammaticrepresentations shown in the two figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a control device according to theinvention; and

FIG. 2 shows a diagrammatic representation of a control device installedby the roadside.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The control device 1 shown in the form of function blocks in FIG. 1exhibits a communication device 2 which, for example, is constructed asa dedicated short-range communication device for a frequency in theregion of 5.8 GHz. The control device 1 also comprises a classificationdevice 3, the sensor system of which contains an electronic image sensor(e.g. in the form of an electronic camera). The control device 1 alsohas a trigger device 4 which is connected to the communication device 2and the classification device 3 for signals. In addition, an evaluatingdevice 5 and a recording device 7 are connected for signals to thetrigger device 4. The evaluating device 5 consists, e.g., of anelectronic computer which performs a plausibility check with regard tothe vehicle class of the vehicle currently being checked and passing thecontrol device 1. For this purpose, this computer compares relevantinformation which is obtained from the checked vehicle or, respectively,from its toll apparatus via the communication device 2, with thecorresponding information on the passing vehicle which has beendetermined by the control device itself in order to be able to specifythe relevant vehicle class. If the evaluating device 5 finds that thevehicle class used in the toll apparatus in the vehicle is differentfrom the vehicle class determined by the control device 1 itself, asignal is generated which is representative of the state that thevehicle currently passing is not performing a correct deduction of theroad usage charges. A corresponding signal is then output via thetrigger device 4 to the recording device 7 in order to make a recordingwhich identifies the vehicle affected. This recording device 7 isconstructed, for example, as an electronic camera. At the same time,this can advantageously also be used as sensor system for theclassification device 3.

A GPS receiver 8, by means of which signals of the navigation satellitesystem used by the toll apparatus in the vehicle can be received, and aradio device 9 constructed, e.g., as a data radio device, by means ofwhich the recording made of the vehicle or, respectively, of its licenseplate, together with other information on the detected occurrence can betransmitted wirelessly to a control center, are appropriate, but notmandatorily required, for the operation of the control device 1according to the invention. After the transmission, this control centerthen has reliable evidence on the basis of which the detected violationof the law by the driver of the respective vehicle can be pursued. Theauthenticity of the interrogated data can be completely guaranteed bymeans of the information of the GPS receiver 8 which can be comparedwith corresponding GPS information which is interrogated from thevehicle by the control device 1.

FIG. 2 diagrammatically shows the process of a check by the controldevice 1. A motor vehicle 10 which is equipped with a toll apparatus 11and carries a license plate 6 identifying the vehicle is driving on achargeable road. Next to the road, the control device 1 according to theinvention is set up on a mobile stand. The reference symbol 12represents three satellites of a navigation satellite system which sendout signals by means of which an accurate two-dimensional determinationof the location of the respective GPS receiver, and thus of the vehicleposition, is possible. The control device 1, which, naturally, couldalso be installed in a vehicle which is parked by the roadside,addresses the toll apparatus 11 by its dedicated short-rangecommunication device and interrogates the data required for determiningthe correctness of the operation of the toll apparatus 11. As soon asthe control device 1 detects a motor vehicle 10 in which theplausibility check with regard to the correctness leads to a negativeresult, an evidence-securing recording of the vehicle 10, preferably ofits license plate 6, is made via the recording unit, not shown ingreater detail in FIG. 2, and transmitted to a control center forpursuing the detected violation of the law, e.g. via a radio device notshown in greater detail in FIG. 2. The relevant vehicle can then bepulled out of the traffic by the police at a suitable location (e.g. ata parking spot or a service area) and the relevant driver can beconfronted with the evidence. At this location, it is then possible todetermine whether the improper operation of the toll apparatus 11 isbased on a manipulation or on a technical failure of the toll apparatus11 which would not have to be defended by the driver of the vehicle 10.

Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed outfundamental novel features of the present invention as applied to apreferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that variousomissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of thedevices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinationsof those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially thesame function in substantially the same way to achieve the same resultsare within the scope of the invention. Substitutions of elements fromone described embodiment to another are also fully intended andcontemplated. It is also to be understood that the drawings are notnecessarily drawn to scale but that they are merely conceptual innature. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicatedby the scope of the claims appended hereto.

1. A roadside control device for checking correct operation of a tollapparatus which is installed in a motor vehicle passing the controldevice and exhibiting an identifying license plate, the toll apparatusperforming a satellite-supported electronic toll deduction, the controldevice comprising: a) communication means for wirelessly exchanginginformation with the toll apparatus in the passing vehicle, theinformation being pertinent to a current operating state of the tollapparatus; b) classification means for allocating the passing vehicle toa predetermined vehicle class; c) evaluating means for carrying out aplausibility check to determine whether the information received fromthe toll apparatus of the passing vehicle by the communication meanscomports with the vehicle class to which the passing vehicle isallocated by the classification means; d) recording means for recordingthe license plate of the passing vehicle in case of an unsuccessfulexchange of information of the communication means with the tollapparatus of the passing vehicle or in case of a negative result of theplausibility check of the evaluating means; and e) trigger means foraccurately timed activation of the communication means, theclassification means, the evaluating means, and the recording means. 2.A control device as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication meansincludes a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) device.
 3. Acontrol device as defined in claim 2, wherein the communication means isa radio device for a frequency range from 2.4 to 5.8 GHz.
 4. A controldevice as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication means is aterminal for one of a cellular network (CN) and a data radio network. 5.A control device as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication meansis operative to conduct a dialog with the motor vehicle in encryptedform.
 6. A control device as defined in claim 1, wherein theclassification means includes a sensor system which operates inaccordance with one of an acoustic principle and an optical measuringprinciple.
 7. A control device as defined in claim 6, wherein the sensorclassification means includes an electronic image sensor.
 8. A controldevice as defined in claim 7, wherein the classification means operatesin accordance with an optical correlation principle.
 9. A control deviceas defined in claims 1, wherein the trigger means includes an imagesensor followed by image processing.
 10. A control device as defined inclaims 1, wherein the trigger means includes a radar sensor.
 11. Acontrol device as defined in claims 1, wherein the trigger meansincludes a laser sensor.
 12. A control device as defined in claims 1,wherein the evaluating means is operative to compare the vehicle classtransmitted by the toll apparatus of the motor vehicle via thecommunication means with the vehicle class determined by theclassification means.
 13. A control device as defined in claims 1,wherein the recording means includes an electronic camera.
 14. A controldevice as defined in claims 13, wherein the classification meansincludes a sensor system including an electronic camera, the electroniccamera of the recording device being physically identical to theelectronic camera of the sensor system of the classification means. 15.A control device as defined in claims 1, and further comprising areceiver for the satellite navigation system used by the toll apparatus,the evaluating means being operative to compare data determined byitself with data of the satellite navigation system interrogated fromthe toll apparatus, which data can be conducted to the evaluating meansvia the communication means.
 16. A control device as defined in claim 1,and further comprising a radio device via which a recording of thelicense plate of the motor vehicle can be transmitted to a controlcenter in case of improper operation of the toll apparatus found by theevaluating means.
 17. A control device as defined in claim 16, andfurther comprising data compression means for transmitting data to thecontrol center in compressed form.
 18. A control device as defined inclaim 1, wherein the control device is mountable on one of a mast and abridge construction which extends over a road on which the motor vehicleis driving.
 19. A control device as defined in claim 1, wherein thecontrol device is arrangeable in a vehicle parked next to a road onwhich the motor vehicle is driving.
 20. A method for detectingcorrectness of operation of a satellite-supported electronic tollapparatus in a vehicle and for securing evidence in case of improperoperation of the toll apparatus, comprising the steps of: wirelesslyexchanging information between a control device and the toll apparatusin the passing vehicle using communication means of the control device,the information being pertinent to a current operating state of the tollapparatus; allocating the passing vehicle to a predetermined vehicleclass using classification means of the control device; carrying out aplausibility check in evaluating means of the control device todetermine whether the information received from the toll apparatus ofthe passing vehicle by the communication means comports with the vehicleclass to which the passing vehicle is allocated by the classificationmeans; recording the license plate of the passing vehicle in case of anunsuccessful exchange of information of the communication means with thetoll apparatus of the passing vehicle or in case of a negative result ofthe plausibility check of the evaluating mean; and activating thecommunication means, the classification means, the evaluation means andthe recording step in an accurately timed fashion.